I have previously developed techniques for temperature regulation of molds where there is provided a cooling chamber adjacent a source of heat where there is a liquid in the cooling chamber and a space above the liquid where there is only substantially the vapour of the liquid.
This development allows for better heat transfer between hotter and colder portions of the cooling chamber subject to the source of heat.
In examples of this arrangement, there has been provided a condenser within the space and at an upper level.
For heat to be transferred, it is known that liquid in its unvaporised form could be directed to the location requiring heat reduction whereupon the liquid will be vapourised using the heat of vaporisation to that effect.
In order to achieve such supply of liquid, in some instances it is desirable to transfer such liquid through a conduit with its outlet directed toward the location that is expected to require extra heat removal capacity.
A technique for doing this can be to provide a feed pipe from a condensation collection trough immediately beneath the condenser within the space then feed such liquid as it collects through the pipe into a directional outlet so that the liquid will then be directed specifically against the higher heat providing location as a contribution toward a total heat distribution throughout the space.
The problem to which this invention is specifically directed then relates to the problem that if there might be needed more than one such directional outflow and if such a directional flow is at a height below the collection trough that is different from another, then the physical effect of the “head of liquid” will result in liquid potentially passing more quickly and therefore at greater volume where a directional outlet is lower than one of the others fed from the same head source.
This problem is accentuated where there might be a larger number of such directional liquid outlets required at varying heights within a die or mold and it is the problem addressed by this invention which is to at least provide some reduction in the differential that might be caused by different head heights from a liquid source or at least provide the public with a useful alternative.
The cooling of machines, and in particular machines that use dies or moulds, for example injection moulding machines, is important to ensure that the mould maintains the correct temperature during the formation of the moulded article. This is very important in the preparation of plastic products formed and in maintaining economical cycle times using injection moulding techniques as the process of injection moulding large numbers of items can result in the temperature of the mould itself increasing over a time period of use and therefore increasing the length of time.
To solve this problem it is known to make use of cooling channels in the mould itself, usually passing a liquid through the discrete cooling channels in order to remove the build up of heat from the mould. However, this has shown to be only partially effective as the removal of the heat is inefficient due to the narrow channels used allowing for the formation of hot spots, which results in differential (uneven) cooling rates across the mould.
Water is used as the cooling liquid and, over time, this results in corrosion of the mould in the presence of air and build up of scale inside the cooling channels. As such it is important with a water-cooled mould to ensure that the cooling channels are maintained in a serviceable manner so as to be able to prevent corrosion, which can result in the mould having a shortened lifespan.
The increased service required however adds to the costs associated with the use of these moulds and their downtime due to the high frequency of servicing for preventative maintenance procedures.
It is known to employ moulds with cooling chambers that have heat exchangers to increase dramatically the efficiency of cooling the mould whilst also allowing for faster cycle times between mouldings.
Whilst this approach has been useful the use of water still retains the drawbacks of needing a heat exchange element adjacent the moulds cooling chambers to convert the steam produced during the cooling process back into water to repeat the cooling cycle within the cooling chamber.